Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers Policy
Licensing criteria and pre-requisites
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Be 21 years or older | |
| Have the right to work in the UK | A right to work check under the immigration Act 2016 will be carried out before a licence is issued. This requires a face-to-face meeting with a member of the Licensing team. Authorised documentation must be provided to prove that the applicant has the right to work in the UK and the council will use the right to work check list provided by the Home Office to establish this. |
| Hold a full DVLA driver's licence which has been valid for the past twelve (12) months | The applicant will need to supply their DVLA driving licence with your current address. A check will need to be carried out to ensure that an applicant's DVLA driving licence is valid. The applicant will need to register on line at https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence and submit the code to the Licensing Section. Please note that this code is only valid for 21 days, therefore should not be obtained until the applicant has completed and received all relevant documents. If the applicant does not have access to the internet, help will be available from the Licensing Team. |
Pass a local knowledge test of the Borough or in the case of horse drawn hackney carriage drivers a knowledge test relating to animal welfare | The test consists of questions on the applicant's knowledge of the law, conditions of licensing, basic numeracy, popular destinations and local knowledge of the borough. The ability to communicate effectively in English will also be verified during this test. This means that Licensed drivers must be able to understand written and verbal instructions and requests and be able to respond appropriately. The test fee is non-refundable and must be paid at the time of booking. An 80% pass rate is required and, should an applicant fail the test, each subsequent re-test will cost a further fee. All applicants for horse drawn hackney carriages driver's licences will be required to undertake and pass a knowledge test relating to animal welfare (the required pass rate will be 100%) |
| Provide an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate (DBS) | A DBS enhanced disclosure must be completed to provide a full record of any cautions, convictions or intelligence held on the applicant or driver's record. Subscription to the DBS update service will also be required to enable regular criminal records checks. All criminal record information must be considered for this occupation type, whether or not it might be considered 'spent' under other circumstances. Information revealed on a DBS will only be used for the purpose of determining an application in relation to hackney carriages or private hire licensing. For applicants who have lived outside of the UK, it will be necessary to obtain a certificate of good conduct from their embassy or home country, or to obtain an exemption from this requirement from the council. The certificate must be in English and provided at the applicant's expense. This is in addition to the DBS check. |
| Undertake a medical to group 2 standard showing that the applicant is physically fit to drive a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle | A medical will be required upon initial application and must be carried out by a registered Medical Practitioner. The medical standard required will be that of a Group 2 driver (DVLA Drivers Medical Group) the same standards that are applicable to other professional drivers. Subsequent medicals will be required at age 45, then every five years after the age of 45 and then annually from the age of 65 years. A driver under the age of 65 with a controlled medical condition may also be required to undergo a full medical annually. Medicals can be obtained either by going to a family GP or from a central agency. Applicants will need to pay for this service direct to the provider - there is no standard fee for this service. If you have a Group 2 medical for other purposes (i.e. HGV or PSV Licence) it may be able to be used for your taxi driver's licence. Please discuss this with a member of the licensing team. |
| Attend an approved safeguarding awareness training session | All licensed drivers must be aware of the responsibility with regards to the safeguarding of vulnerable groups and will be required to undertake safeguarding training as prescribed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council. A fee is payable to attend a training session, |
| Horse drawn hackney carriage drivers licences only - Code of Practice Road Driving Assessment for single horse urban environment | This assessment is provided by the British Driving Society Ltd and the applicant will need to pay for this service direct. Information and costs can be found at |
| Information regarding previous licences, revocations, or refusals | The Borough Council has signed up to the National Register of Refusals and Revocations (NR3 register). This means that when an application for a taxi driver's licence is refused, or when an existing taxi driver's licence is revoked, that information will be placed on the register. The details of all new applicants will also be checked against the information held on the register. |
| Completed application form | |
| Passport-sized photo | |
| Payment of prescribed fee |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Medical fitness | Medicals will be required at age 45, then every five years after the age of 45 and then annually from the age of 65 years. A driver under the age of 65 with a controlled medical condition may also be required to undergo a full medical annually. |
| Convictions and Criminal History | The DBS Update Service will be utilised. This will enable regular checks to be made by the Licensing Team. Drivers who have not subscribed to the update service will be required to complete a new enhanced DBS disclosure every 6 months. |
| DVLA Licence check | A check will need to be carried out to ensure that an applicant's DVLA driving licence is valid. The applicant will need to register on line at https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence and submit the code to the Licensing Section. Please note that this code is only valid for 21 days, therefore should not be obtained until the applicant has completed and received all relevant documents. If you do not have access to the internet, help will be available from the Licensing Team |
| Information regarding previous licences, revocations, or refusals | The National Register of Refusals and Revocations (NR3 register) will be checked on licence renewal. Where an existing licence is revoked the authority will automatically record this decision on NR3 |
| Safeguarding | All licensed drivers must be aware of the responsibility with regards Safeguarding of vulnerable groups and will be required to undertake Safeguarding Training as prescribed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council. A fee is payable to attend a training session. Drivers will also have an obligation to adhere to the code of conduct published by the Borough Council in relation to safeguarding. |
| Code from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) | Applicants will be required to request a tax check from HMRC. HMRC will advise as to what information is to be provided and once satisfied will issue a 9-character code. This code is to be provided to the Licensing Team when applying to renew the licence. |
| Completed application form | |
| Passport-sized photo | |
| Payment of prescribed fee | Up to date fees can be found online at https://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/article/2393/Taxi-licensing. |
Share this page
